Media content frequently uses animated virtual characters. Manually generating and animating these virtual characters in an interesting manner involves subjective judgments by animators, who rely on trial-and-error and varying amounts of expertise to depict animated characters in an aesthetically desirable manner. To automate this process, content creation applications are used to generate animated virtual characters.
One example of a content creation application is a motion-capture system. A motion-capture system records a live performance by an actor who performs various movements. The recorded performance is applied to a virtual character, thereby animating the virtual character. Motion capture systems apply levels of nuance to virtual characters similar to the nuances that would exist in live performances, thereby increasing the realism of the animated character.
However, these existing solutions for animating virtual characters present disadvantages. For example, while motion capture systems are helpful for animating realistic characters, such as a virtual character that is intended to depict a normal human being, these systems often have limited utility when applied to non-realistic characters, such as a fantastical creature whose movements are modeled by an actor. Non-realistic characters show varying degrees of stylization in their appearance and are therefore expected to behave in non-realistic stylized ways.
Thus, existing solutions may involve disadvantages for reasons such as (but not limited to) those described above.